All Saints
November 2, 2008
Pastor Aaron A. Koch
Mt. Zion Lutheran Church
Greenfield, Wisconsin

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit

Today we observe the festival of All Saints. Usually when we think of the word "saint" we think of a very small group of people who were exceptional examples of Christian faith and life, people like St. Paul or St. Peter or the Blessed Virgin, St. Mary, the mother of our Lord. But God's Word, such as today's Introit Psalm, calls all the people of God, all Christians, saints, including you and me! Now how could that possibly be? We know ourselves and our sin a little too well to really think that. We certainly don't expect to ever be enshrined in stained glass. But before we dismiss this as a gracious overstatement by God, let's take a look at what the word "saint" means. It is defined as "a holy one." A saint is a holy one of God, someone who is holy in God's sight. And that is exactly what God has declared us to be-not because we're so perfect, but because of His perfect mercy, shown to us in His Son, Jesus Christ. Through faith in what He has done for us, we are truly saints, holy and forgiven.

In John chapter 6, Simon Peter said to Jesus, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life; and we have believed and have come to know that you are the Holy One of God." Another way of translating that last phrase is that Jesus is "the Saint of God." He's the only real Saint. He is the only One who lived a holy and sinless life, who perfectly submitted to His heavenly Father's holy will and suffered and died for our sins on the cross. Therefore, when we are joined to Him by faith, we ourselves are counted as saints. Having been made members of the body of Christ in Holy Baptism, being sustained and nourished in the body now through the Holy Scriptures and Holy Communion, we are truly the holy ones of God, ones He is working through to lead holy lives.

Today though, we who are at the same time saints and sinners especially remember those saints who have died, who have gone before us in the faith. And it is good that we do this, whether we're thinking of our loved ones, or especially those saints in the Bible and in the history of the church that stand out among God's people. Our Lutheran Confessions says this: "We approve of giving honor to the saints. This honor is threefold. The first is thanksgiving: we should thank God for showing examples of His mercy, revealing His will to save men, and giving teachers and other gifts to the church." In other words, honoring the saints if done properly really gives honor to God who made them what they are and worked in them for our good. "The second honor is the strengthening of our faith: when we see Peter forgiven after his denial, we are encouraged to believe that grace does indeed abound more than sin (Romans 5:20)." Even the saints in the Bible were by no means perfect. Often they fell into the gravest of sins. Through them we are reminded that God's mercy overflows to us, too, who trust in Him with penitent faith, no matter our past. "The third honor is the imitation, first of their faith, and then of their other virtues, which each should imitate in accord with his calling." When we pay attention to the saints, we learn to follow the example of their humble faith and their good deeds. So then, it is good and right for us Lutherans to observe saints' days and use them as special opportunities for the strengthening of our own faith and life in Christ.

But at the same time, we must always be on guard against making too much of the saints, as if they are gods or goddesses. This is sometimes the case in the Roman Catholic church or the Eastern Orthodox churches. Saints are addressed directly and petitioned for help as if they can hear us just like Christ does. But we have no certainty at all that the saints can hear any of our prayers, nor we do have any command to call upon them or any promise from God that they will answer. It is true that the saints do indeed pray for us in heaven; but that is quite a different matter than us praying to them and looking to them for help. Prayer is a form of worship that leads us to put our faith in the one that we're praying to. The Lord alone is deserving of our faith. Only He is our Helper in whom we are to trust.

Now as Lutherans, praying to the saints is probably not be something we're tempted to do. In fact, we look at most of that as just a lot of superstition. And yet, we may well be tempted to fall into the same sort of error with our own loved ones who have passed away. Often people speak of deceased family members or friends as looking down on them or watching over them or somehow intervening in their lives. Grave sites or rooms in the house become like little spiritual shrines to the departed. Some may even call upon a deceased loved one to help them or guide them or protect them. Isn't that exactly the same thing as praying to the saints, treating them as virtual gods or goddesses? The truth of the matter is that the spirits of Christians who have died and gone before us are not here on earth but in heaven. And their attention is not focused on this cursed world but on the blessedness of being in the presence of their Creator and Redeemer whom they worship day and night in glory with the angels and all the company of heaven.

We sometimes forget that our greatest joy when we get to heaven is not just that we will get to see Christian loved ones who have gone before us. That's true and that's good, but that's not the main event, which is the way everyone seems to talk at funerals. No, our greatest joy is that we will see and be with our Savior, to stand in the presence of the Holy Trinity Himself and to see His glory with our own eyes and be embraced by Him who has loved us from the foundation of the world. Nothing else that we're looking forward to can compare with that. The fact that we get to experience that along with our believing family and friends and all the heavenly host is just frosting on the cake.

Our real comfort always comes from Christ; He's our focus. The same Lord who is with all the faithful departed is also with us and has promised to be with us always, especially here in divine service. He alone is the One who watches over us and intervenes in our lives for our good. No saint, only Jesus is our Mediator; He is the one intermediary between God and men, according to 1 Timothy 2. For Jesus alone is both God and man, who gave Himself as a ransom for us all to bring us back to the Father. He is the only bridge between earth and heaven (John 1:51), who hears our prayers, who stands as our Advocate before the Father in heaven, who speaks on our behalf bringing our requests to the throne of grace (I John 2:1). It is in His name alone that we are given to pray (John 16:23). For He alone is the Holy One of God who has the words of eternal life.

We have those words in today's Gospel-words of blessing that are so different from the thinking of the world, words that bring us comfort not in earthly success and honor but in the cross of Jesus. Blessed are those who are poor in spirt and meek, those who mourn, who hunger and thirst for righteousness, who are persecuted for righteousness' sake. In other words, true blessing is not to be found in health and wealth and prosperity, but in a life conformed to Christ. We are blessed because we have been wrapped up in Him who is the fulfillment of all of these beatitudes. After all, wasn't Jesus poor in spirit-by giving His riches to take on the poverty of our sin and death? Didn't He mourn-especially when He wept over His people who turned away from Him? Isn't He the meekest of all men, and did He not continually hunger and thirst after true righteousness? Isn't He the very definition of mercifulness and purity in heart? Is He not the peacemaker, who reconciles God and man in Himself? And finally, of all men who ever lived, wasn't He the most persecuted and reviled for the sake of righteousness? Only life in this Jesus is truly blessed.

The Psalm put it this way, "A righteous man may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers Him out of them all." Don't expect life to be all smooth sailing because you are God's saints. If it wasn't for Jesus, why should it be any different for you? But know this: what you are going through is not the judgment of an angry God, but of the merciful God of Calvary, who cuts that He may heal us, who kills that He may raise us up to life forever in Christ. The Lord will surely deliver you as He delivered His Son, your Savior.

That is the certainty that we celebrate for all the departed saints this day. The Lord has delivered His faithful ones from their troubles into His glorious presence in the kingdom of heaven. Those who have gone before us are now joining their voices with the angel chorus in eternal praise to God. Theirs is perfect happiness. And we join our voices with them here in this place, singing with angels and archangels and all the company of heaven around this altar, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty." The way to be close to the saints is to be close to Christ, to receive His life-giving body and blood. For the saints above in glory and the saints below who feebly struggle are all united in Him who is truly present and with us in His Supper.

For now, this is a reality you perceive only by faith. But the day will come when you and all the saints will behold this with your own eyes. You will stand in the light of Christ with the prophets and apostles, with the saints and the martyrs, with blessed Mary and Paul and Peter and John, with all the baptized who have fallen asleep in Jesus, including the saints whom we will remember today. God will wipe away every tear from your eyes. There will be no more sorrow or pain; for the former things will have passed away. You will no longer hunger and thirst, but you will sit at His table and be filled with His goodness and life forever. Blessed are you all in Jesus.

? In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit